Vio-Lence is a thrash-metal band which is also from the ¨Bay-Area¨ movement during the late eighties; their music has been described as a blend between Exodus and Forbidden. The band is inactive according to the facts that I have read about this band, and band has claimed that they have no plans to do any tourings in the future.
The band plays very fast on this album which is their first one. There is a lot of so called ¨Slayer¨ drumming, fast riffing and the vocals are quite unique as well. The vocal style reminds you about Joey Belladonna from Anthrax but this singer, Sean Killian, is a few steps worse than Belladonna. Personally, I think that these vocals are better described as fast speaking, not singing, but that’s why this band is unique. These guys are not as skilled as other great bands, as Testament for example, they concentrate more on speed and the soloing are not so impressive, but the songs are catchy and heavy and I will describe them better now in the track-by-track review.
Sean Killian – vocals
Robb Flynn – guitars
Phil Demmel – guitars
Dean Dell – bass
Perry Strickland - drums
Eternal Nightmare (6:09)
The song starts with some slow drumbeats and simple riffing, the song gets into high-speed and Sean starts his singing. The song is very intensive at the beginning, this first part is not catchy but the song changes its structure and becomes catchier. The tempo is good for some head banging if you want to, the guitar solo is good and after that it comes a short bass filler riff. The tempo is turned up once more and there is one more guitar solo which is more chaotic than the first. The song still has its catchiness all the way to the end. 4.5/5
Serial Killer (2:58)
Shotgun reloads, bang, riffing begins and then bang, and the song is away. Thrash attack!! It would be the best way to describe this song, this is one of the fastest songs of this album because it is ultra-fast throughout the whole song, there is no short pause it just thrashing away. This is the song that I least enjoy because this is too much for my ears, it is to fast and I think that this song would bore almost any listener. 2.5/5
Phobophobia (6:35)
Also this song starts with a high-speed intro but it gets slower and catchier and it stays that way all the way to the end. This song is heavier than rest of the songs and is one of my favourites, the guitar solo is ok but it is quite screechy. The song has though as very fast section near the end but it stays in its standard pattern till the end. 5/5
Calling In The Coroner (3:53)
This was the very first song I heard from Vio-Lence and after that I finally got the whole album, anyway, this song is a slow song compared to the other songs. The riffs are a bit odd sometimes but they are catchy, the song has a few fast sections but they are not many. The vocals in this song sound a bit odd because it sounds like Dean is eating something while he is singing. 4/5
T.D.S. (take it as you will) (5:03)
The intro is the same old fast business, the song has chaotic solos, insane riffing and the drums are pounding as h***. But also this song changes its pattern towards the end and the riffing are more simplistic and slower and of course the drums slows down in pace, this part is the catchiest part, to bad that it is to short. 3.5/5
Bodies On Bodies (5:46)
This is once more a thrashing assault song, especially in the intro. The song structure is the same as the other songs and that will say: fast at the start, slower and more listener friendly for a period of time and then it becomes a bit faster again. This song is catchiest in its slower parts, the song is not so heavy but it is slightly catchy. 4/5
Kill On Command (4:56)
Do I have to describe this song? Well I will do it anyway; the intro is of course in high-speed along with Slayer-drumming and rushed vocals. And here we go with the slower section of the song, more concentration with the riffs and drums, the guitar solo is one of the best solos on this album. The end is one last rush of speed before it finally ends. 4/5
Done, this band doesn’t stand out very much but this album shows pretty good music skills and as I wrote before, somewhat odd vocals. People who like thrash-metal bands with odd or high-pitched vocals would enjoy this, otherwise people would find this interesting because of the bands capability to play very fast. Personally I think that this was very enjoyable but this is not an album that I would recommend to ¨inexperienced¨ listeners because I think that many would reject this band by just listen to the intros, I think that this band and album would suit most metal heads in the thrash-genre. But I think that this is an album that you should have in your metal collection.
PROS
+ Unique vocals
+ Good song structure
+ Good quality thrash metal
+ Catchy and shredding riffs
CONS
- People who are not used to speed/thrash will maybe find this as boring
- If you are looking for high quality vocals a la Belladonna for example, this is nothing for you
- Almost every song sounds pretty much the same
RECOMMENDED TRACKS
• Calling In The Coroner
• Phobophobia
• Eternal Nightmare
• Bodies On Bodies
Overall album rating will be a proud: 4/5
